Electric welder for wire-fence machines



("No Model.)

BLBGTRIG WELDBR POR WIR-B FENCE MACHINES.

No. 495,626. Patented Apr. 18, 1893.

To all whom it may concern:

zen of the United States, residing at Worces- NrTnn STATES PATENT Ormea.,

JOHN I). CURTIS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC WELDER FOR WIRE-FENCE MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 495,626, dated April 18, 1893.

Application tiled November 2, 1892.

Beit known that I, JOHN D. CURTIS, a cititer, in the county of Worcester and Commonweath of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Barbed-Wire Machinery, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

The object of my invention is to manufacture barbed wire without splices, thus avoiding the frequent stoppage of the machines, necessary when splices are made. This I accomplish by welding, electrically, the pieces of wire forming the continuous strand of the fencing.

In the drawings, Figures l, 2 and 3 represent in plan barbed wire machines of ordinary construction such as are very commonly used.

The two wires which form the twisted cable fencing are taken from the reels at the rear of the barbing machines, indicated in plan at 4E, 5 and 6, Fig 2. Barbingmachines l and 3, are also provided with reels in the same way, although they are not shown inthe drawlngs.

The two wires 7 and 8 are fed into the barbing machine through the feed-roll 9 at the rear of the machine, and in the direction of the arrow, the wire 8 passing through the winding spindle lO, where the barb is wrapped around it, the wire forming the barb being fed into the machine in the usual manner, substantially at right angles to the main wire through the feed-rolls l1. The naked wire 7 and the wire 8, with the barbs attached to it, are then twisted together in the usual manner by a twister of the ordinary form, which is not shown in the drawings, placed at a suitable distance in front of the barbing machine.

It is obvious that when the wire on the reels at the rear of the machine is used up, new coils must be supplied and spliced to the wire which has passed through the machine and which is partially wound upon the spool in the twister. It is evidentthat this splice cannot be made behind the machine, because if it were, the wires could not pass through the feed rolls 9, nor could the wire to be barbed pass through the winding spindle 10; consequently, the necessary practiceis to make the Serial No. 450,797- (llo model.)

splice between the barbing machine and the twister. In practice, when a wire runs out, the twister is stopped, a new wire is introduced into the machine, the loose end of the wire already partially wound upon the spool in the twister and the new wire coming from the machine are then spliced by a hand tool and the twister and machine are then started and continue in operation until it is'necessary to make another splice. These splices are so objectionable that only wire of long lengths can be profitably used in the manufacture of barbed wire; ,but even in using the longest lengths practicable, one or more splices occur in every spool.

Not only are splices objectionable because of the delay occasioned in making them, thus decreasing the product of the machines, but they weaken the fenceat the points where they are made, increase the weight of the fence, and consequently diminish the number of feet in a given number of pounds bought by the consumer. Furthermore, the splices detract from the good appearance of the fencing when it is used. A great objection to the present method of splicing, to the manufacturer, is that the delay thus occasioned, greatly increases the cost of manufacturing the fencing, and consequently makes it unproltable to use short lengths of wire. Moreover, there is always more or less waste in splicing, in cutting the ends of the wire to the same length, after the splice is made. All these serious objections to the present method of manufacture are obviated by my improved mechanism, in which I use a dynamo of suitable power, shown in plan at l2, in the drawchiues, which may be run by one attendant. When a coil of wire is nearly run out, it is :i only necessary for the attendant to place the ends of the old and new coils in the welding apparatus, as indicated at 16, Fig. 2, and after welding them in the usual manner he allows the wire to pass through the machine, which may be kept r'unning during the operation.

IOO

As no more than one machine is likely to need attention at a time, it is apparent that three machines, or as many as may be in the charge of one attendant will run continuously till the spools in the twisters are of the desired Weight, when they are removed, and

others putin their place and the operation form of barbing machines or to twister, nor v to any particular arrangement of the two, nor to the particular arrangement of the reels holding the smooth wire which is fed into the barbing machines, my arrangement of mechanism being applicable to all styles of barbing machines and to any number.

larly designed for use inv connection with a barbed wire machine, it may be used with equal efficiency in connection with machinery designed to produce barbless fencing.

In practice I prefer to use three reels at the rear of each machine so that the attendant may more conveniently make his welds without stopping the machine or snarling his wire.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a barbed wire machine, the combination with the barbing mechanism, of an electric Welder intermediate of the barbing mechanism and the wire supply mechanism, whereby unbroken lengths of wire may be fed to the barbing mechanism, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for making wire fencing, the combination with the wire feeding mech- .anism, of an electric Welder intermediate of the wire feeding mechanism and thewire supply mechanism, whereby unbroken lengths -of wire may be supplied to the wire feeding mecl1anismsubstantially as described. While my improvement is more particu- JOHN D. CURTIS.

Witnesses:

C'. G'. WASHBURN, R. M. WAsHBURN. 

